Category: Connecticut Whale

Whale Get Swept In Buffalo

After coming off an overtime defeat yesterday, the Whale were looking to bounce back and salvage the weekend. It unfortunately did not go in their favor as the Beauts defeated the Whale today by a final score of 6-4.

Here was the game day line up:

In the first period, Buffalo would jump out to a quick lead, only taking 3 minutes to break the ice and draw first blood. The goal came from Brooke Stacy with the assists going to Iveta Klimasova and Marie- Jo Pelletier. It wouldn’t take long for Buffalo to double their lead, the goal from Taylor Accursi on the power play would beat the debuting Cassandra Goyette. Assists on the play came from Marie- Jo Pelletier, her second of the game, and Becki Bowering. However the Whale would get one back 10 minutes later as Kayla Meneghin would notch her first goal of the season, with the assist coming from Kaycie Anderson. 2 minutes later, after a Whale penalty, the Beauts would add to their lead on the power play, with Cassidy MacPherson getting the goal, with Megan Delay and Erin Gehen getting the assists on the power play. Then in quick strike fashion, Buffalo would get another goal, this time from Marie- Jo Pelletier, this would be her third point of the period. Assists on the play came from Lenka Curmova and Sara Bustad. The period would end 4-1 in favor of the Beauts.

In the start of the second period, we would see a goalie change for the Whale. It just was not Cassandra Goyette’s day and definitely not a debut to remember. In stepped Sonjia Shelly for the Whale. Early on in the second period, the Whale would get a goal from their veteran defender Jordan Brickner. Assist on the play came from Grace Klienbach, and it cut the Beauts lead in half. However, about 2 minutes later the Beauts would answer right back, the goal coming from Lenka Curmova, her second point of the game. Assist on the play came from Sara Bustad, which would be her second assist on the day too. At the end of the second, the score would be 5-2 in favor of the Beauts.

In the third period, the Whale would begin their climb back into the game. It would take 6 minutes in the period to see them notch their first goal. The goal coming from Emma Vlasic, and the assist on the play from Shannon Doyle. Ripping a page out of the Buffalo playbook and getting a second goal in quick succession, the Whale would get one from Haley Payne, her first career NWHL goal, in just her second game. The assist on the play came from Hanna Beattie, which made it a one goal game. After some furious back and forth action, it unfortunately would be the closest the Whale would get to tying the game as Brooke Stacey would stash the empty netter. It would be Stacey’s second goal of the game. The assist on the play came from Marie- Jo Pelletier, it would be her third assist of the game and her fourth point.

A tough two games against the Beauts this weekend. Now the Whale will get to face someone different next weekend, as they will get the Whitecaps at home in Danbury. Puck drop will be at 330p on Saturday October 26th.

Notes

  • Some congratulations are in order for the following players: Jane Morrisette, Sarah Hughson, Emma Vlasic, and Emma Payne. All four of these players all notched their first career NWHL goals this weekend!

  • Unfortunately for the Whale, forward Kendra Broad was assessed a 5 minute major for checking from behind and also given a game misconduct in the second period.

 

Fundraising

For those keeping track, Whale defender Shannon Doyle was able to record 4 blocked shots today, giving her 9 blocked shots for the season! Doyle is donating a $1 for every block she records for her fundraiser Blocks For Books. Here is the link for those who want to make a donation too.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1s6bzhbt5c?utm_medium=social

 

Additionally, Whale forward Kendra Broad was able to record a shot on goal today before her early exit. She has 4 shots on goal for the season. Broad is donating $2 for every shot on goal for Mental Health Connecticut. Here is a link for those who want to make a donation too.

https://mhconn.networkforgood.com/projects/83116-kendra-broad-s-fundraiser

 

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Whale Earn Point In Buffalo

The Connecticut Whale came in looking to get their first win, on this early campaign. They unfortunately fell to the Beauts in their home opener 2 weeks ago, but there was a lot of positives to take from that game.

Here is the starting line up for today’s game:

The Whale hopped out to a quick start in the first period. It would only take 5 minutes for them to get their first goal. The goal coming from Jane Morrisette, it would be her first career NWHL goal. The assist on the play came from Jordan Brickner. It would not take long for Morrisette to add her second career NWHL goal as 2 minutes later, she would double the Whale lead. The assist on this play came from Elena Orlando. About 4 minutes later, the Whale would add a third goal, this time it came from Shannon Doyle, it would be her first goal of the season, assist from Jordan Brickner, her second of the period. It staked the Whale to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first.

Penalties in the first were 2 penalties to the Beauts, to the Whale’s 1. The Whale were the only team to capitalize on a power play in the first, with Shannon Doyle’s goal.

In the second period, both teams would get into penalty trouble as there were 11 total penalties called. 7 against the Beauts and 4 against the Whale. However the Beauts would begin their climb back into the game as 2 minutes into the frame, the Beauts would get their first goal of the game. It came from Taylor Accursi, with the assists coming from Corinne Buie and Iveta Klimasova. 9 minutes later, the Beauts would get another one back as Lenka Curmova would get one past Sonjia Shelly, with the assist coming form Brooke Stacey. That would be the end of the scoring for the period with the Whale holding a 3-2 lead heading into the third. Both goals for the Beauts in the period came via the power play.

In the third period, the Whale would get on the board first, as it would be Sarah Hughson who would beat Fujimagari. The assist came from Jane Morrisette, it would be her third point of the game, and it gave the Whale a 4-2 lead. However, this 2 goal lead would be short lived as 2 minutes later, Brooke Stacey would answer right back, assists on the play coming from Erin Gehen and Iveta Klimasova, her second assist of the game. 2 minutes later, the Beauts would get another quick strike, as Kim Brown would tie the game up, the assist on the play came from Lenka Curmova, her second point of the game. The Whale would get a late 5 on 3 power play but failed to capitalize and the game went to overtime.

Penalties in the third was 4 for the Beauts and 2 for the Whale. Both teams scored a goal while on the power play.

In the extra session, it would be almost the entire period before we got the decisive goal. After the Whale took a penalty late in the frame, it proved to be costly as Buffalo found a way to capitalize on it. The goal coming from Marie-Jo Pelletier who got it by Shelly.

 

The Whale can not dwell on this game, as they will play these same Beauts again tomorrow. Puck drop will be at 130p.

 

For those who are interested, Whale defender Shannon Doyle has 5 blocked shots on the season, while she did not register a blocked shot today, she is donating a $1 for every block she records for her fundraiser Blocks For Books. Here is the link for those who want to make a donation too.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1s6bzhbt5c?utm_medium=social

 

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NWHL News and Notes – October 9th, 2019

Today in the NWHL there were a pair of announcements including a free agent signing.

 

Today the Boston Pride announced that they have signed All Star forward Emily Fluke for the 2019-20 season.

Emily Fluke.jpg

For more on Fluke’s signing with the Pride please read Shaggy’s report on the signing.

 

The Minnesota Whitecaps have announced that they will be doing their Banner Raising on Saturday, October 12th before they take on the Metropolitan Riveters.

 

The Whitecaps banner raising and game will precede the Minnesota Wild’s home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins later that night. The Wild are supporters of the Whitecaps and provide far ranging support including having the Whitecaps play all of their games and hold all of their practices at TRIA Rink, and with their extensive resources the Wild support the Whitecaps with marketing, promotions, communications, social and digital media, community relations, and so much more.

 

All players will partake in the 50 percent cut of revenue from league sponsorship and media deals. Plus they will also receive 15 percent of revenue from apparel sold with their name on it.

 

*Graphics courtesy of the NWHL.

 

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Former Whale Captain Signs With Boston

The big news coming from the NWHL today, former Connecticut Whale Captain Emily Fluke has signed with the Boston Pride.

The Pride have added a really good player. On top of being an NWHL All Star last year for the Whale, in the 16 games that she played, she scored 3 goals and added 8 assists for 11 points for the season. She also added a playoff goal in a game against the Riveters.

Emily Fluke

(Photo Credit: Matthew Raney)

Plus, she was a premier player in her rookie year too! In the 16 games she played that season, she scored 4 goals and added 7 assists for 11 points. She lead the team that year in every major offensive category!

So in total, Fluke has played 32 regular season games in the NWHL, she has 7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 2 seasons.

(Check out her Elite Prospects page: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/571095/emily-fluke)

Emily Fluke2

(Photo Credit: Michelle Jay)

 

To the Captain, Leader, Legend of the Whale, I want to wish you the best of luck on your upcoming season with Boston. I am happy to see that you are back for Season 5, so that you can continue to inspire and help #GrowTheGame.

 

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NWHL Weekend Recap – Game Recaps & News

Welcome to the TXHT NWHL Weekend Recap for the Weekend of Saturday, October 5th and Sunday, October 6th, 2019, plus news coming out of the weekend.

 

Saturday, October 5th, 2019

Game #1 – Buffalo Beauts v. Connecticut Whale

  • The Beauts would get goals from three different scorers as they would down the Whale in their home opener at Danbury Arena 3-1 in what was a tightly contested matchup.
    • Lenka Curmova would score the first goal of the season for both the Beauts and the NWHL. Curmova becomes the first Slovakian to score in the NWHL.
    • Curmova’s goal was also the first powerplay goal of the season, and her first career NWHL goal.
    • Beauts would also get goals from Brooke Stacey (first career NWHL goal), and Corinne Buie (empty netter).
    • The Whale’s lone goal would come from Grace Klienbach.
    • In net Mariah Fujimagari would make 29 saves on 30 shots for the Beauts for her first career NWHL win, while Sonjia Shelly would make 13 saves on 15 shots for the Whale in her first career NWHL game.
    • Shaggy’s TXHT Game Recap

 

Game #2 – Boston Pride v. Metropolitan Riveters

  • In a game that had three 5 on 3 opportunities, the Pride would get a pair of goals from Jillian Dempsey to lead them past the Riveters 4-2.
    • The Pride would also get goals from Tori Sullivan (first career NWHL goal), and McKenna Brand (empty netter).
    • The Riveters would get goals from Kendall Cornine (first career NWHL goal) and Collen Murphy (powerplay goal, first career NWHL goal).
    • The Pride would have one 5 on 3 opportunity, while the Riveters had two attempts with the 5 on 3 woman advantage.
    • In net Lovisa Selander would make 23 saves on 25 shot for her first career NWHL win for the Pride, and Sam Walther would make 36 saves on 39 shots in her Riveters debut.
    • Michael’s TXHT Game Recap

 

News and Notes

  • The Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL and the Connecticut Whale announced that on February 22nd, 2020 that the Sound Tigers will be hosting the first ever AHL and NWHL doubleheader with the Whale.

Whale-Tigers

  • Per the release, on Saturday, February 22nd at Webster Bank Arena, the Whale will host the Boston Pride in NWHL action at 2p ET, then at 7p ET the Sound Tigers will host the Hershey Bears. The Sound Tigers are also offering a combined ticket for both games in the Sound Tigers/Whale doubleheader for $25 which are available for purchase now.

 

Player of the Week

  • Buffalo Beauts defender Lenka Curmova has been named the first VEDA NWHL Player of the Week for season 5 of the NWHL.

Lenka Curmova POTW 1

  • Curmova became not only one of the first two Slovakian born players to appear in an NWHL, but she also is the first Slovakian to score a goal in the NWHL. Cumova would be named the VEDA Player of the week not only for the history that she made, but also for her all around play in the Beauts 3-1 victory over the Whale on Saturday, October 5th.

 

* All Graphics Courtesy of the NWHL.

*Photo of Lenka Curmova by Bryan Johnson Photography.

 

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Beauts Win Season Opener

The NWHL season kicked off this past weekend, and it was the Buffalo Beauts facing off against the Connecticut Whale in the opener. After a very spirited contest, it was the Beauts getting the two points at the end of the game with a 3-1 victory.

Before the game started, there was a special ceremony in which, the mayor of Danbury, CT came out to center ice and performed a ceremonial puck drop.

As for the game itself, it was a very penalty filled first period. There were six penalties called (4-2 Beauts in that department). However, it would be the Buffalo Beauts who would take the lead on a power play goal from Lenka Curmova. Assists on the play were from Marie-Jo Pelletier and Corinne Buie.

(Two things about this tweeted photo: the new arena is nice, and the new jerseys are fantastic!)

In the second period, things started to settle down, the Whale would get an equalizing goal about half way through the second period. The goal was scored by Grace Klienbach, with the assists coming from Sarah Hughson and Elena Orlando.

After some intense action in the third period, with lots of great back and forth action, and the goalies seemingly settled into the game. It would be the Buffalo Beauts scoring a late game winning goal with about four minutes left in the game. The goal was scored by Brooke Stacey with the assists coming from Ashley Birdsall and Iveta Klimasova. About three minutes later, Corinne Buie would seal the win with an empty netter, Taylor Accursi would nab an assist on the play.

The goaltending for the Beauts was Mariah Fujimagari, she faced 30 shots and made 29 saves. The goalie for the Whale was Sonjia Shelly, she faced 15 shots and made 13 saves.

 

The next set of games that the Connecticut Whale play, will be on Saturday October 19th and Sunday October 20th. The game will be in Buffalo at their new facility, Northtown Center. The puck drop will be at 1130a for the 19th, and 130p on the 20th.

 

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Whale and Beauts Set To Kick Off Season 5

The NWHL is set to kick off a new season this weekend. This will be the league’s fifth season!

There is a spirited match up ahead where the Connecticut Whale will be hosting the Buffalo Beauts in their season opener. The game will be taking place in the Whale’s new facility, Danbury Arena.

This will be the second year in a row that the Whale will be hosting the Beauts to kick off the season. Last year, at Terry Conners Rink, the Beauts defeated the Whale by a final score of 4-0.

Puck drop on the new Whale season will be this Saturday at 230p in Danbury, CT.

There was also huge Whale news today:

Congrats are in order for Shannon Doyle, Elena Orlando, and Jordan Brickner!!

Cetacean Nation got the drop on a PTO signing for the Whale:

 

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2019-20 NWHL Previews – Connecticut Whale

2018-19 Record:  2-12-2 6pts   5th Place in the NWHL

Playoffs: Lost in First Round to Riveters

 

Key Additions: F – Emma Vlassic, F – Kendra Broad, G – Cassandra Goyette

 

IMG_20190729_124156

 

2019-20 Preview:

Shaggy’s Questions For The Season

Who will step up and be the leader for the team?

As of this article, the Whale still have some players they need to sign. However, the Whale roster is full of some returning players and a lot of rookies. The head veterans on the team are Elena Orlando and Shannon Doyle. Which one of them is going to step up and be the leader of the locker room?

 

How will the team adjust to the new coaching staff?

Last years coaching staff was Ryan Equale and Cydney Roesler, they are now gone. The current coaching staff is ex-NHLer Colton Orr and former Whale goalie Laura Brennan. The team will have to adjust to a new playing style, and how long will that adjustment take?

 

Who will be the starting goalie for the Whale this season?

The Whale will start off the new season with three new goaltenders on the roster: Cassandra Goyette, Sonjia Shelly, and Brooke Wolejko. All three goalies have previous NCAA experience. There certainly will be some good competition to see who the number one is going to be.

 

The Whale will be playing at a new rink this season. They are going to be playing at Danbury Arena in Danbury, CT. The first game of the season will be the home opener against the Buffalo Beauts at 230p EST on October 5th

 

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NWHL News and Notes – October 1st, 2019

Today in the NWHL there were five more signings announced as we are now four days away from the start of the 2019-20 Season.

 

Minnesota Whitecaps

The Whitecaps announced that they have re-signed Minnesota native Lauren Barnes to a one year deal. Barnes, who played at Mercyhurst and Minnesota State University, played in nine regular season games for the Whitecaps, and scored two goals and earned an assist in her time with the Whitecaps.

 

Connecticut Whale

The Whale have announced that they have re-signed Sarah Schwenzfeier for the the 2019-20 season. Schwenzfeier appeared in four games for the Whale last season after a career with Norwich University which saw her finish her collegiate career with 121 points in 119 games.

 

Buffalo Beauts

The Beauts announced that they have signed three players for the upcoming 2019-20 season starting with Ana Orzechowski. Orzechowski, a stay at home defender, played for RPI from 2015 to 2019 where she amassed only 16 penalty minutes in her 105 career games in the NCAA.

 

The Beauts also announced the signing of defender and New York native Richelle Skarbowski. Skarbowski played at New England University and SUNY-Cortland. With SUNY-Cortland Skarbowski served as team captain for the Red Dragons in her senior season.

 

The Beauts final signing announcement is Erin Gehen. Gehen, who played at Buffalo State College, is the college’s all time leader in goals, assists, points, shorthanded goals, and games played while playing for the school from 2014 to 2018.

 

All players will partake in the 50 percent cut of revenue from league sponsorship and media deals. Plus they will also receive 15 percent of revenue from apparel sold with their name on it.

 

Other News

 

TXHT will continue to provide NWHL coverage as more signings are announced.

*Graphics courtesy of the NWHL.

 

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Whale Unveil New Jersey for 2019-20 Season

Following this past Friday’s announcement by the Metropolitan Riveters unveiling their new jersey for the 2019-20 NWHL season, today the Connecticut Whale unveiled their new 2019-20 jersey.

 

After the Riveters new uniforms were unveiled the big question would be what will the Whale do as the past two seasons they have been wearing white as their primary color. With the Riveters now wearing white as their primary the Whale will need to change their jersey primary color. Friday afternoon the NWHL tweeted the following teaser:

 

The NWHL acknowledged that the Whale would be returning to green for the first time since season two. But how will they look? Well never fear because here they are!

 

The Whale are now doing a green version of the jersey they wore last season, and originally wore in the inaugural season. This style for the Whale is a long time fan favorite and one of the more artistically designed jerseys in the NWHL. This is a great look for the Whale for the 2019-20 Season.

 

Per the NWHL Press Release very little was said except for this quote from Whale defender Shannon Doyle:

 

“Green just feels right.”

 

And that it does.

 

*Graphics courtesy of the NWHL.

 

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